1. Technical Field
This invention relates to brush holder assemblies for electric motors, and more particularly, to a brush holder assembly having integrally formed cooling fins and other integrally formed components which enable the brush holder to be more easily and readily secured to a motor housing and to more effectively dissipate heat from the brush holder generated during use of the electric motor.
2. Discussion
Brush holders for electric motors typically consist of a component which is roll-formed or broached out of brass. The brush holder is some form of opening for supporting at least a portion of a motor brush therein when the brush holder is secured to the motor housing. The brush holder acts to hold the brush in contact with a commutator of an electric motor during operation of the motor. The brush holder also provides a means by which an electrical connection can be made to the motor brush.
The drawback with conventional roll-formed or broached brush holders is the lack of design detail which may be incorporated into the design because of the roll-forming or broaching process. Accordingly, design attributes to allow for enhanced cooling of the brush holder, and/or easing the manner in which the brush holder may be attached to a motor housing, cannot be readily accommodated through roll-forming or broaching construction processes. Thus, design features which enhance the cooling of the brush holder or its ease of mounting require additional component parts, manufacturing steps and/or assembly techniques if they are to be incorporated with convention roll-formed or broached brush holder housings. Since cost is often an important consideration in the manufacture of brush holder assemblies, adding such component parts, manufacturing steps and/or assembly steps can often add significantly to the per-unit cost of a brush holder assembly, making such design changes, even though desirable performance-wise, undesirable from a cost standpoint.
Accordingly, there is a need for a brush holder or an electric motor which provides some means for enhancing the cooling of the brush holder housing and enabling the brush holder housing to be quickly and easily coupled to a motor housing via conventional fastening elements. There is also a need for a brush holder which can be easily coupled to a motor housing without unnecessarily complicating the construction process of the overall brush holder assembly or significantly increasing its cost.